Coupler yoke



Nov. 16 1926.

J. O. LANDSTROM COUPLER YOKE Filed August 10. 1925 Patented Nov. 16, 1926.

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JOHN o. LANDSTBOM, or nocxronn, ILLINOIS.

cournnn YOKE.

Application filed August 10, 1925. Serial No. 49,235.

This invention relates to coupler yokes for railway draft mechanisms.

The principal object of the invention is to improve the construction of a coupler voke and its connection with the draw bar to give greater strength and durability and afford security against accidents in the event of a wearing out of the rivets or other fastenings used in the connection.

-Briefly stated, the invention provides a coupler yoke the jaws of which have the usual shoulders to engage shoulders provided on the coupler butt of the draw bar and having a wall connecting the jaws and lying alongside the end of said butt to providean abutment therefor and to prevent the jaws from spreading in case the riveted connection between the yoke and draw bar becomes disrupted, the jaws also having extensions to embrace the coupler shank from opposite sides to receive a bolt passing through the shank to serve further in keeping the jaws from spreading and maintaining them in proper engagement with the butt. A further provision consists of a pair of plates riveted with the coupler and draw bar on the topv and bottom of the coupler having bolts detachably connecting the same to form therewith a keeper frame which will serve, in the event of the rivets wearing out, as a means of preventing sidewise displacement of the butt from the jaws-ofthe coupler atleast until the rivets can be replaced.

In the accompanying drawing illustrat- 111.2 my invention, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a coupler yoke and draw bar embodying the improvements of my invention;

2 is a longitudinal vertical section through the connection between the draw bar and coupler yoke taken on the line-2&2 of Fig. 1; r r

Fig; 8 is a transversevertical section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

In the course of thetollowing detailed description reference is made to the drawing by numerals applied to corresponding parts in the three views.

The draw bar 5 has a butt end 6 provided in the form of an enlargement on the end of the shank 7 in a conventional manner. At its opposite end the draw bar is proisprovided at 12 joining the parallel top a and bottom members of the yoke. The yoke, usually referred to as a yokestrap, is ordinarily made of wrought iron and the abutments 1O and12 have engagement with the stalled between the center sills in the floor construction of a freight car or the like. The yoke 8 in conventional. constructions has two or more rivets 13 fastening the e coupler yoke 8 is arranged to be rigidfollowers of a tandem spring draft gear injaws 14: and 15 together on the butt 6 with the shoulders 16 and 17 on the jaws 1 1 and 15 respectively, in engagement with the shoulders presented at the butt 6 at the end of the coupler shank 7. The construction described thus far is entirely conventional and no invention is claimed therein except only in so far as my improvements to he hereinafte" referred to are correlated therewith in the novel combination which I have devised. The coupler yoke has been found to spread off. the butt when the rivets becameworn and dropped out 01": place or sheared off. In several instances very serious accidents resulted from this cause. My improvements are directed toward maintaining the jaws in proper relation at all times with the coupler butt 6 as will hereinafter appear. I a

The jaws 14 and 15 are joined by a wall 18 serving as an abutment for the end of the butt 6 and providin means for rigidly maintaining the jaws 1d and 15 inproper spaced relation so that they cannot spread and come off the butt 6 in case the rivets 13 shear oil or otherwise wear out and are no longer of use in keeping the jaws together. To further insure the jaws keeping their proper relation 1 provide extensions 19 and 20 oflf the front of the jaws 1d and 15 re spectively embracing the couplershank of the. draw bar 5 from the top and bottom. A bolt 21 is passed through the extensions 19 and-QO and through the draw bar to secure the extensions, and thereby the jaws 1 and 15, together. This insures the proper municated'to the draw bar, and there is hardly any likelihood of shearing off the rivets 13, as was previously a common fault in yoke connections heretofore available, where the butt itself provided an abutment for the front followerof the spring draft gear. The two provisions referred to,nam.ely the wall 18 and the extensions 19 and 20, apart from any other improvements to the coupler yoke would serve in a large measure to give greater strengthand durability and afford security against accident arising from the spreading of the jaws of the yoke. However, I provide an additional means to maintain the relationship of'the draw bar and yoke in the possible event of a wearing out, shearing off or other cause which would result in a displacement of the rivets from connecting the draw bar and yoke. This provision is in the form of a keeper frame which I will now describe in detail.

A keeper frame is provided by plates 21 and .22 lying across the top and bottom of the jaws 14: and 15 and overlying the sides as indicated most clearly in'Fig. 3. The rivets 13 pass through the plates 21 and 22 and through the coupler yoke and draw bar as illustrated. If desired, theplates may have recesses to receive the heads of the rivets, in which case the rivets would pass through only the coupler yoke and draw bar and the plates would serve as means to re tain the rivets in place. However, I prefer to provide the construction as shown so that the keeper frame be assembled at one time with the coupler yoke and draw bar and rivetsmay be replaced, in the event they become worn out or shear off, without necessitating a complete disassembling of the draft connection.

The plates 21 and 22 are detachably connected by T bolts 23 and 24 passing through slots 25 provided in the plates 21 and .22.. The bolts are entered from the' top and are supportcdby their heads 26 and are joined at thebottom by a bolt 27 passing through openings provided at the lower ends of the bolts 23 .and24. The bolts 23 and 2a are provided of, ample width to afford a; means of preventing'sidewise displacement of the butt 6 from between the jaws 14: and 15 in the event the rivets 13 are no longer effective to'keep the butt in place between the yoke jaws.

The

. bolts 23 and 2- 1 together with the plates'21 and 22 serve also in a measure to keep the jaws from sj'ireading. lowever. the main functlon of the keeoer frame is to maintain the butt from sidewise displacement. Where extending cross-wise of the yokein front and behind the plates 21 and 22.

1 claim:

1. In a draft connection, comprising a coupler yoke and draw bar, the combination with a butt, and a yoke strap having jaws at one end embracing the same from top and bottom and suitably fastened thereto, said strap jaws providing shoulders thereon for abutment with said butt to prevent relative movement .to front or rear regardless of failure of said butt and strap fastening,

of a keeper frame surrounding the yoke strap jaws, comprising top and bottom members always rigid with the top and bottom portions of said strap regardless of the condition of said butt and strap fastening and overhanging the sides of said butt, and side members detachably connected with said other members, said side members serving to hold said butt in place in said strap jaws .by keeping the same from sidewise displacement in the event of a failure of the butt and strap fastening. V Y 2. In a. draft connection, comprising a coupler yoke and draw bar, the combination withv a butt, and a yoke strap having jaws at one end embracing the same from top and bottom, of a keeper frame surrounding the yoke strap aws, comprising top and bottom members riveted together with said butt and strap, side members 'detachably connected with said other members, said side members 1 serving to hold said butt in place in said jaws by keeping the same from sidewise displacement in the event of a failure of the riveted connection, and shoulders on said strap in front and behind said top and bottom members to hold said keeper frame from endwise displacement the riveted connection is disrupted. I

3. In a draftconnection including a coupler yoke and draw bar, a butt, a yoke strap having upper and lower jaws embracing the butt'from top and bottomand suitably fastened thereto, said strap'jaws having a wall joining the same at the end of said butt serving as an abutmenttherefor and as a means to keep said jaws from spreading, said jaws having shoulders on the other-side of said butt above and below the same also serving as an abutments therefor, both abutmentsserving to prevent relative movement betweenrsaid butt and strap to front or rear regardless of a failure of said butt'and strap fastening, said yoke aws having extensions overlying the. top andbottom of the shank of said draw bar, a bolt passing through said extensions. and draw bar to keep the jaws from spreading vertlcally off said butt, and a'kee'per "frame surrounding the yoke strap jaws comprising top and bottom members serving to hold said butt in place in said always rigid with the top and bottom porstrap jaws against sidewise displacement in tions of said strap regardless of the condi the event of a failure of the butt and strap 1 tion of said butt and strap fastening and fastening.

- extending laterally on opposite sides of said In Witness of the foregoing I aflix my butt, and side members detaohably connected signature. with said other members, said side members 7 JOHN O. LANDSTROM. 

